Edith Ann Pearlman (''
née'' Grossman; June 26, 1936 – January 1, 2023) was an American
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
writer.
[Edith Pearlman]
Author Spotlight, Pen/O. Henry Prize Stories
Early life and career
Pearlman was born in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...
, where she grew up in a middle-class Jewish neighborhood, the daughter of Edna (Rosen) and Herman Paul Grossman, an ophthalmologist. Her father was born in Ukraine, and her maternal grandparents emigrated from Poland.
[ She graduated from Radcliffe College. She has worked in a computer firm and a soup kitchen and has served in the Town Meeting of Brookline, Massachusetts.
Her non-fiction has appeared in '']The Atlantic Monthly
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', ''Smithsonian Magazine
''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970.
History
The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' mag ...
'', '' Preservation'', and ''Ploughshares
''Ploughshares'' is an American literary journal established in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, ''Ploughshares'' has been based at Emerson College in Bos ...
''. Her travel writing – about the Cotswolds, Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, and Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
– has been published in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' and elsewhere.
In January 2015, her fifth collection of short stories, ''Honeydew'', was chosen as one of Oprah Winfrey's 'top 19 books to read right now'.
Personal life and death
Pearlman lived in Brookline, Massachusetts, with her husband. They had two children.
Pearlman died in Brookline on January 1, 2023, at the age of 86.
Awards and honors
Source:
*2014 Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize
The Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Literary Prize is an annual British literary prize inaugurated in 1977. It is named after the host ''Jewish Quarterly'' and the prize's founder Harold Hyam Wingate. The award recognises Jewish and non-Jewish writers r ...
, shortlist, ''Binocular Vision''
*2012 National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".[Edward Lewis Wallant Award In 1962, the Edward Lewis Wallant Award was established at the University of Hartford, in Connecticut, USA by Fran and Irving Waltman. It is presented annually to a writer whose fiction is considered to have significance for American Jews. The award ...]
, ''Binocular Vision''
*2011 PEN/Malamud Award
The PEN/Malamud Award and Memorial Reading honors "excellence in the art of the short story", and is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. The selection committee is composed of PEN/Faulkner directors and representatives of Bernard Ma ...
*2011 National Book Award for Fiction
The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...
, finalist, ''Binocular Vision''
*2008 Pushcart Prize XXXIII, "Door Psalm"
*2006 Best American Short Stories 2006, "Self-Reliance"
*2003 The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, "The Story"
*2001 Pushcart Prize XXV, "Mates"
*2000 Best American Short Stories 2000, "Allog"
*1999 The Antioch Review
''The Antioch Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1941 at Antioch College in Ohio. The magazine was published on a quarterly basis. One of the oldest continuously published literary magazines in the United States prior to it ...
Distinguished Fiction Award
*1998 Best American Short Stories 1998, "Chance"
*1991 Syndicated Fiction Award (from NEA)
*1987 Syndicated Fiction Award
*1984 The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, "Conveniences"
*1978 The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, "Hanging Fire"
Works
Short story collections
* Winner of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize
* Winner of Spokane Prize for Literature
* Winner of Mary McCarthy Prize
*
*
Anthologies
*
*
References
External links
*
Trove
''Commentary Magazine''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearlman, Edith
1936 births
2023 deaths
American women short story writers
Radcliffe College alumni
PEN/Malamud Award winners
Lincoln School (Providence, Rhode Island) alumni
Jewish American non-fiction writers
Jewish American short story writers
American women travel writers
20th-century American women writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American short story writers
21st-century American women writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American short story writers
American travel writers
Writers from Providence, Rhode Island
Writers from Brookline, Massachusetts